TONIGHT, on Hour 42!

Thanks to everybody who might have joined us for the first time for last week's episode of HOUR 42! Hope you stick around tonight, because we'll be talking about:

* The new Doctor's new Companion
* One convention sells out, while another honors two hall-of-famers
* The latest on the reboots, prequels and re-sets being talked about, including El Secreto's plan to build the next generation's Slayer and Peter Pixie on Megan Fox's controversial comments
* Plus your comments and questions at 646-716-4799, LIVE tonight at 8pm PST (11pm EST) on HOUR 42!

Wonder Woman deserves Classy Actress

Megan Fox is very nice to look at. But then so is Jenny McCarthy. Until they start talking. Some people - beautiful people - become ugly when they speak. Megan Fox has joined that list.



Voted Hottest Woman of the Year by one either Maxim or FHM or one of those Men's Mags for teenage boys, Megan Fox is really smoking hot. At least she was. Her comments in a recent article found on Times Online have shown her to be an ugly person on the inside.

But don't take my word for it - take hers:

“Wonder Woman is a lame superhero,” she says, clearly unfazed at the thought of ruling herself out of a potentially career-making franchise. “She flies around in her invisible jet and her weaponry is a lasso that makes you tell the truth. I just don’t get it. Somebody has a big challenge on their hands whoever takes that role but I don’t want to do it.”

Im sorry... what? You are seriously going to tell me that the worlds most recognizable super-heroine is LAME? If you think the Amazonian Princess is merely a rope wielding - invisible jet setter, then you obviously are talking out of... well you know what she's talking out of.

Wonder Woman deserves a classy actress. One who 'gets' what shes about. Here's another quote from the same article when asked if she sees herself as a role model:

“It depends on what your idea of a role model is,” she says. “If your idea of a role model is somebody who’s gonna preach to your kids that sex before marriage is wrong and cursing is wrong and women should be this and be that, then I’m not a role model. But if you want your girls to feel strong and intelligent and be outspoken and fight for what they think is right, then I want to be that type of role model, yeah.”

Now first of all, I HATE this question. Why? Do they ask it of young MEN who are actors? No. Not really. Is it because boys are too smart to follow actors as role models? I don't think so. But back to the quote. Is it me or is that WHAT WONDER WOMAN STANDS FOR TOO?

Just another point that Fox is just another young pretty thing who is banking on her good looks. What? You think I'm being bitter? Let's here it from those pouting lips:

“Hollywood is the most superficial thing you could possibly be a part of,” she says. “And if I weren’t attractive I wouldn’t be working at all.”
Ask if she’s afraid of typecasting and she pouts defiantly. “Getting typecast as what? Attractive? How bad is that?” she counters. “That’s not really a bad thing. If people want to look at me like that I find it flattering. And it gives me an advantage because people don’t expect anything from me. If I show up and give any sort of performance at all, even a mediocre one, everyone will walk away going, ‘Holy shit! Megan did a great job in that movie!’ So I’m an overachiever just by default because of the category I’ve been put in.”

So, for those of you wondering about Fox's overachieving moment, here it is from Transformers 1:


And she outshines that moment by overachieving in Transformers 2:


SOMEONE CALL THE ACADEMY! Why doesn't she have an Oscar yet??? Seriously, the reason she can't do Wonder Woman is because she CAN'T ACT. Princess Diana is an Ambassador to America from the Island of the Amazons and also has to keep her own with the likes of Superman and Batman. This isn't some 'wannabe' we're talking about.

Lucky for us, Megan Fox will join the ranks of the 'once hot' brigade of women:

“I didn’t even train for this role,” she laughs. “Just quit smoking — that’s all I did. My weight fluctuates constantly. I don’t really take good care of myself. I’m not that type of girl, I don’t pamper myself, I don’t have a special diet, I just sort of exist and survive. Whatever happens, happens.”

These pics are from a list on spike.com's Top 15 Hot Girls who went Fugly
The difference between most of these women and Fox? Most of them have TALENT. So you better bank on it while you can and line up that Playboy photo shoot now. Because when you think you should it will be too late and someday you will end up on this list thinking... 'You mean I could have been immortalized as WONDER WOMAN?'

My Three Sons: El Secreto vs. Battle For The Cowl!

Yeah, yeah, I know, it's a week late. But this was such a bad example of how to do an "event" comic that it still bugs me. Let me count the ways.

1. The Premise. Bruce Wayne dying (for now) isn't inconceivable, even if it was handled poorly. What was really hard to swallow was that Bruce Wayne, the guy who once had an entire new Justice League on standby just in case didn't have another contingency plan for Dick Grayson to take over the family business. Again. The third-issue exposition-by-hologram actually made the problem worse; seriously, Batman didn't figure out how much of an impact he had on keeping Gotham in check? Did he never listen to his own monologues? And even if Dick were hesitant to pick up the mantle, would it be so hard to believe that Bruce - or new Outsiders leader Alfred, for that matter - would have alternates ready to call upon?

2. The Struggle. Really, there was no battle. Sure, Jan Brady Jason Todd donned his own gun-happy variation on the Batgear, but, we never saw anybody believe he was the real deal -- or even the new version. In an effort to flush Jason out, Tim Drake opts to don a suit from the Jim Aparo collection, complete with '70s dialogue. But Jason actually calls it: Tim's effort was simply him playing dress-up, which undermines the ostensible purpose of the whole affair.

3. The Context. We're told over and over that Gotham is under siege after the fall of the Bat. But, how could it be any worse than No Man's Land? Or the Cataclysm? Or the War Games? It's hard to believe residents don't just walk around multiple homicides like so much park litter after all the calamities they've been through. Bringing in The Network was a nice attempt at underscoring the latest round of chaos, but we didn't get to see enough of them in action in the main series, and their one-shot was too slight to mean much of anything.

So, three overblown months' worth of books later, the stage is finally set for DC and Gotham to move on - kinda. Tim's set to become Red Robin and search the globe for Bruce (Why isn't he Nightwing? That's taken); Jason is ... off being nutty somewhere else. And as everybody figured out the moment Bruce was turned into Apokolips Fried Chicken, Dickie and Bruce's biological son Damian are set to be the new Dynamic Duo. And for all the good all this build-up did -- BFTC #1 was reportedly outsold by two Avengers books; #2 lost to a Neil Gaiman-penned issue of Detective Comics -- DC has gotta be hoping Grant Morrison can kick-start sales on the title some more before Bruce comes back -- perhaps as part of its' latest marketing initiative?

Meet Sarah Jane's new companion: THE DOCTOR!

This was such INCREDIBLE NEWS I couldn't wait to post it on another day!

The Doctor's best and all time greatest companion - Sarah Jane Smith - will be having a visit from Doctor number 10 during her show.


What? How can I say SJS is the greatest companion of all time? Well, anyone else get their own TV show named after them? (K9 does NOT count!)

According to the BBC, David Tennant will appear in 2 episodes of The Sarah Jane Adventures in the upcoming season. This is great news for all of us who are fans of WHO from both the past and present!
Russel T. Davies, who still is show runner for the SJA, is quoted in the UK's Guardian as saying:
"Viewers thought they may have to wait until November for the next full episode of Doctor Who, but this is an extra special treat," Davies said.

"And it's not just a cameo from David – this is a full-on appearance for the Doctor as he and Sarah Jane face their biggest threat ever."

So hang on to your seats and be prepared to watch two of the greatest actors from the show reunite for a final time!

So you thought V was for Vendetta? Think again!

OK, so you may have heard the one about the lizard people pretending to be humanoid in an effort to steal us for food?

Yes, I realize that how cheesy that sounds. But if it was Jane Badler asking could YOU say no? The only sad thing is her character was not allowed to have an Australian Accent that the actress has - being FROM Australia and all.

Sometimes a story is ahead of its time. I could argue Star Wars among them. Imagine the ability to see for the first time Star Wars on the Big Screen with today's technology... I know Lucas wishes he could.

Lucky for us, we are going to get that opportunity with V. Originally a mini series from creator Kenneth Johnson. I will let that sink in.
What? you don't KNOW Kenneth Johnson? He brought us shows like:
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Bionic Woman
The Incredible Hulk
Alien Nation
And is currently working in post production on True Believer: The Stan Lee Documentary.

This man knows how to entertain and inspire. Sadly, the one thing his visions lacked was money. I would go so far as to say that Johnson was the 70s Whedon of his time.

Here is a promo from the original V: The Mini Series




It originally aired on NBC. They had so much involvement in Johnson's work he actually QUIT during the Second Mini series because they were asking for far too many stupid changes.

But now, technology has come about to really tell the story of hope from the stars. And if there ever was a time when we needed it... I would say that time is now. Here's a promo for the upcoming series:



This time around it's Scott Peters turn. He is best known for his show 4400. However, he also directed and wrote many of the Latest version of the Outer Limits and even a couple of Highlander the series episodes.

Im looking forward to seeing this version of the story. Oh yeah, if you watched the preview you would have seen this time we get Morena Baccarin who played the leader of the Ori on Stargate: Atlantis asking me to be food. And if that wasn't QUITE enough incentive, Laura Vandervoort aka Supergirl from TV's Smallville is a Vistor too. So I really don't have much of a chance of survival.

If you missed the show last night ...

Last night, HOUR 42 was an international incident, as Peter Pixie and El Secreto were joined by Canada's own MightyGodKing, and covered a whole host of topics, including:

* The key to writing about Doctor Strange
* MGK's beef with Bullseye
* Why he didn't read Power Girl #2
* A good way to include Galactus in a Fantastic Four movie
* The utter ridiculousness of GI Joe

And much more! So if you missed the show, or want to listen one more time, click on the handy-dandy player below, and don't forget to catch us next week!

We are LIVE in less than 90 minutes!

Tonight on HOUR 42, @ThePeterPixie and I will be LIVE tonight with the man who should be writing Dr. Strange, Canada's own MightyGodKing! We'll also talk about:

* The end of Battle For The Cowl
* Further thoughts on Terminator Salvation
* Bad news for Smallville fans
* Legal news surrounding the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

Plus your comments and questions at 646-716-4799. And if you missed last week's eventful show, just click on the handy-dandy player below!

WHO YA GONNA CALL?

When I was a kid in 1975 there was 'The Ghost Busters' A staple in my Saturday morning ritual of cereal and mind numbing television. It was about 2 guys and a Gorilla who always ended up chasing down the supernatural to the old castle.

And then about 10 years later There was the GHOSTBUSTERS. A trio of guys who chase down ghosts in all kinds of places! From this I ate the GHOSTBUSTERS CEREAL, joined the fan club which sent me a certificate I still have certifying me as an Official Ghostbuster of my area, patches, soundtracks, t-shirts... I really enjoyed it a lot. Especally when they made the cartoon The Real Ghostbusters. NOT to be confused with the Ghostbusters cartoon which also came out at the same time based on the aforementioned The Ghost Busters television from the 70s.

'We are not calling it Ghostbusters II. We will burn in hell if we call it Ghostbusters II' - Bill Murray after Ghostbusters to Starlog Magazine

Of course, I became an adult. Not really growing up mind you - I was excited when the GHOSTBUSTERS decided to take another turn at making a movie. I was sad through most of it, but Segourny Weaver was still very nice to look at so it wasn't too bad. But bad enough to kill the cartoon and the franchise. Not even Bobbie Brown could save them with stunning lyrics like: 'Too hot too handle too cold to hold. Called the Ghostbusters and they're in control.'

'"See, to me this is the third movie. That's why I was so excited and passionate about getting it done." - Dan Aykroyd in UGO Gamesblog.

So now a lifetime after The movie and the original but not the same series came out, we are getting a real treat in what looks to be a very exciting and fun Ghostbusters video game! A totally new story created by loving fans of the franchise and - the best part - not in any way a game version of what is come in the MOVIE Ghostbusters III.

Its OK if you're confused. I was for a long time.

The makers of the much more famous Ghostbusters actually had to pay for the use of the name from the original series from the 70s. The actors and writers of the new Ghostbusters movie were inspired by the things happening in the upcoming video game when they wrote their script.

The good news is this is going to be a reunuion show but not dwell in the past. It will have a fresh and pretty new crew with rumours of Eliza Dushku and Alyssa Milano to star. So, stay tuned here and on HOUR 42.

REAL LIFE SUPER HERO WEBISODES!

I took the opportunity to watch Zetaman.tv today. It chronicles the exploits of The Alternates team members of Zetaman, Agent Null and Ms. Meow as they team up with their newest members Dreamer and Black Knight as well as a a costumed individual calling himself NeurocybeX on a quest to ensure the residents of a children's home have presents for Christmas.

Will anyone show up at their fundraiser on this very snowy eve?
Will one of them get the phone number from the really hot girl?
Will one of the survive the night?

WILL THE KIDS GET THEIR CHRISTMAS?


I recommend you watch it yourself for these reasons:

1. Zetaman is in it! He's just all around cool. He is now in his 4th year of Costume Activism and consistently shows all of us a better way to live.

2. Agent Null is funny. He really understands that what he's doing can be seen as a little kooky by some, but this particular mission is dear to his heart and you will feel closer to him by the end of this episode.

3. NeurocybeX. Be sure to check out the deleted scene which focuses on this interesting fellow and his theory of the Stratification of Man. Be sure to watch it AFTER the main episode to understand its context.

4. Hey, these are Civic minded citizens who happen to wear costumes. That in and of itself should make you want to check this out!

Of course, the other members of the Alternates team are also great people and their missions to bring more humanity to the human race is truly inspiring.

The most endearing thing about this documentary is that it allows the viewer to see nearly every spectrum of what is out there on what is commonly referred to as the 'RLSH - Real Life Super Heroes.'

When someone asks you what is and RLSH and what do they do, this is a great way to show them. I say this because it shows the sane balanced individuals as well as those who have different theories on how life works.

Go take a look at it, come back here and tell me what you thought. If you say something interesting, we might even talk about it on Hour 42!

5/17/09 Show Review

If you missed our show last night, you can catch it by using the handy-dandy BTR Playertron there at the bottom. Here's some of the stuff Peter Pixie & El Secreto talked about:

* We agreed -- for once -- on the Smallville finale
* We talked about the latest Doctor Who rumors, including an appearance by Timothy Dalton and by Claire Bloom as The Doctor's mother
* El Secreto reported on the creation of the Long Beach Comic Con, to be held this October, and the upcoming happy hours this summer, courtesy of the New York Comic Con.
* And we announced our special guest for next week's show: the guy who should be writing the Legion of Super-Heroes, MightyGodKing.

So we hope you can spend part of your Memorial Day weekend with us next week -- and if you missed last night's show, just click below!

TONIGHT on HOUR 42!

We've got a whole boatful of stuff to talk about, including:

-- Marvel casts its' newest Avenger!
-- Dollhouse gets a new lease on life!
-- Peter Pixie & El Secreto share their thoughts on the Smallville finale
-- A travel tip from ES
-- And an announcement for next week's show!

All this plus your comments and questions at 646.716.4799 tonight on HOUR 42!

BREAKING: Dollhouse Reportedly Renewed!

Props to @FuryOfSolace and @The_Orphan for the tip: slight report here.

Earlier today, IO9.com reported that Fox was "leaning" toward giving the Joss Whedon-led show a second season, citing favorable DVR and online totals. We'll have the latest for you this Sunday on the show!

Update: @feliciaday linked to this story from THR.com also reporting the news, saying the move will be formally announced Monday.

Smallville: Step Right Up and Don't Be Shy!

In the immortal words of The Boondocks' Huey Freeman: 'BOOOO!' *MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD*

'As it turns out, I AM a psycho killer'

(photo courtesy of tvjab.com)

The peep show that was Smallville season 8 was indeed like watching a woman behind a glass wall: all promise and no pay off.
In the season finale 'Doomsday' we find Clark squaring off with the character the episode is named after. HOWEVER... NOT before lame and unneeded cameo from the Legion's Cosmic Boy showing up to tell him that he dies tomorrow! So, don't stick around and HELP or anything. And if it's such a BIG DEAL, why not just bring the Legion in at the right moment and TAKE DOOMSDAY? Really a stupid plot device to ensure another Legion flight ring can fall into the hands of someone it shouldn't.

Meh.

So THEN we get the Justice gang together which was AT FIRST a WOO HOO! moment.

But sadly the Good guys turn on Clark and really just kinda fail to serve any real purpose except to allow Clark to COME OUT to Superman's pal, Jimmy Olsen. Which we will get to shortly.

Justice League Plan: 'HOLD the Monster!'
(photo courtesy of Smallville wiki)

They are ineffectual and down right dumb over all which says that the writers were merely using them as pawns in the story and not real living breathing characters in which to TELL the story.
In all of the disappointments in this episode, this may be the biggest of them all. Except for the running about bit for Bart and a waste of money shot on Green Arrow's bow coming out in a cool way, we don't really see the use of their powers. Couldn't Black Canary have used her power to at least BOTHERED Doomsday?

Clark's plan to separate Davis from Doomsday was his driving goal. He could kill the killing machine, but not the mind within. Chloe makes this happen for him BUT... DOOMDAY doesn't KILL ANY of the super heroes surrounding him at the time of his release. DOOMSDAY DOESNT KILL ANYONE IN THE ENTIRE EPISODE! Truly stupid. There's lots of knocking about people and the Holding-the-little-girl-by-her-throat-at-arms-length scene.

And then we get to THE FIGHT. Clark can lay into Doomsday because there's no humanity in him. He's just a drooling carnage machine. And with no back up from his super buddies (because after awaking at the same time from the beat down that Doomsday gave them, the Justice Team just waits to blow up the building) DOOMSDAY WAS ALL HIS.

So at this point I'd like to tell you we had 5 minutes of knock down, drag out brawling between the LAST SON OF KRYPTON and the OTHER LAST SON OF KRYPTON. I'd like to tell you that at this point, all the pent up and hidden rage and anger building in Clark for losing the love of his life, most of his friends, and any chance at a normal life came out through his fists into the one thing that could take it.

I'd like to tell you that, but just like this season, I would be LYING.

Clark gets punched a few times which makes him fall backwards through some buldings and at that point the budget was eaten up for the fight scene. The big 'pay off' was that Clark ALMOST (once again) seems to FLY with doomsday in his arms to the place where they can both be blown up. Because what we did, since we can't kill him, is bury him alive... because he won't be able to dig out of it or anything. Really. I'm pretty confident in this plan.

After Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen, on the trust he has with 'CK' and by 'CKs' request, gets Chloe and Davis to a never before mentioned 'wedding present' - a clock tower/loft/kinda thing he just 'couldn't get rid of' even though he was a junkie for most of the season and hitting up his rich friends for money to buy them. Dumb.

Of course, we have the Jimmy/Chloe moment of 'OH, I so understand you now Chloe and I still so love you' and 'Jimmy there's so much I want to tell you - wait a minute, you have a pipe sticking out of your midsection!'

Yes, Davis, upon waking up and witnessing the admissions of love proves what we all knew to begin with - HE'S A PSYCHO KILLER! Jimmy's last act of heroism is to kill Davis and save Chloe, proving in the end he, too was a hero.

Meh.

At his funeral we get what appears to be all of the heroes, including Cyborg - maybe? But no Aquaman. There's a seemingly pointless scene with Jimmy's younger brother, who looks like he will grow up to be a villian on this show. And WHO BRING'S THE DEAD EX-HUSBANDS CAMERA TO A FUNERAL? Chloe gives it to the kid.

Some where along the line of this mess of a story, the City of Kandor (you know the City in a Bottle from Superman Mythos) is in an orb in the possession of Tess. It somehow explodes her safe from the inside, which leads Tess to blame Lois. Why? because she had dressed as a maid and broken into her house once. This DOES lead to the best scene in the show wherein Tess and Lois go all out in a fight that makes CLARK/DOOMSDAY look just plain dumb.

Of course this SOMEHOW makes the drawer on Clark's desk open up and SOMEHOW knocks the drawer out of the desk knocking open the box with the Legion ring in it that Lois decides is far more important than dealing with Tess at that moment. Which makes Lois disappear.

This means at the funeral of Jimmy Olson, we appear to have 3 deaths: Clark, Jimmy, and Lois. Oh yeah, 5 if you count Doomsday and Davis.

But by the end of the Ep, we learn that the death of Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen at the hands of Davis, whom he felt he should save because everyone deserves a 2nd chance, causes Clark to realise it was his human connections that have kept him from becoming the real hero he is to become. So, he tells Chole goodbye and that Clark Kent is dead.

So, unlike the other tellings of the Doomsday story in which SUPERMAN dies and Clark is a victim, missing in another country, etc, we get CLARK'S death in this. It wont last 2 episodes into the next season and I might remind everyone CLARK WAS 'DEAD' THIS LAST SEASON TOO!

And finally... Kandor... was just a ruse to serve two purposes. One, to show that Tess - again - is a pawn to powerful Male characters and to unleash ZOD - again - on the world. WHO does he look like this time? Wel ZOD was the 'father' of DOOMSDAY...

The show lost me for a season the first time they gave Lana supernatural powers. And if she was a full time character in this season I would have probably stopped watching. It appears as though they may have lost me for their final season.

Nah.

I will watch.

I like the abuse.

And Chloe.

Smallville Season 9: Dumb and Dumber - STAY TUNED.
Be sure to check out HOUR 42 this Sunday at 10pm CST to hear more about it.
(now to go read the 30 tweets from El Secreto on the subject - heh)

Kevin Smith gets a shot at Green Hornet after all

Entertainment Weekly reported today that movie writer/director Kevin Smith, who has also written successful Batman and Green Arrow stories, will write a story for Dynamite Comics' upcoming Green Hornet series.

If you'll recall, we talked about GH as part of our Forgotten Heroes a few weeks back. The Hornet, originally created in the 1930s for a radio serial, has survived throughout the decades in various radio, television and comic-book stories. Smith's script for the story is reportedly based on a screenplay which he'd hoped would be used for a GH feature film due in June 2010. However, star Seth Rogen subsequently took over writing duties (with Evan Goldberg) for the movie.

Smith also told EW he will be writing a 12-issue Batman arc called "The Widening Gyre." No word yet on whether it's a follow up to "Cacophany," which was released this year and featured Batman, The Joker and Smith creation Onomatopeia.

We'll discuss this development further Sunday night at 8pm PST (10p CST) on HOUR 42!

Welcome to the next level!

Thanks for joining us here at our OFFICIAL show blog. Last night's show kicked off what we think is going to be an exciting time for @ThePeterPixie and myself. Stay tuned for more posts, and a lot more surprises!

Kicking things off, we've got a quick look at our most popular show yet -- more than 100 people have listened to the podcast debut of The Nerdy Bird, Jill Pantozzi, who joined us to talk about:


* The controversy surrounding the upcoming Marvel Divas series -- is it too sexy for its' own good?

* We dished as little spoilers as we could about the new Star Trek film while still telling you why you should go see it

* We talked about Dollhouse -- what worked and what didn't about the season finale, and our hopes that it wasn't the series finale.

If you missed the show, or want to listen to it again, just click on the handy-dandy player below. And don't forget to join us this coming Sunday at 11pm EST (8pm Pacific) for more HOUR 42!